Fuel burner flame plate



N 1950 w. G. CALKINS ETAL FUEL BURNER mum PLATE Filed Nov. 27, 1944 1. I N ENToRs.

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BY i

ATTORNEYS.

Patented Nov. 7, 1950 FUEL BURNER FLAME PLATE William G. Calkins, Detroit, and Edward W.

Upham,

Birmingham,

Mich., assignors to Chrysler Corporation, Highland Park, M.ich., a corporation of Delaware Application November 27, 1944, Serial N o. 565,228 5 Claims. (01. 158-116) 1 This invention relates to improvements in fluid fuel burners, and more particularly to burners of the type having a flame plate at a face of which combustion occurs.

An object of the invention is the provision of a burner of the foregoing ype having a dame plate characterized by a maze of pore-forming voids through which the combustible fuel is passed to the combustion surface at a rate sumcient to maintain a steady and continuous flame; and to provide a burner in which components of the combustible fuel are intimately mixed at the combustion surface by flow through a flame plate of the foregoing character.

More particularly an object of the invention is the provision of a burner flame plate formed from a mass or layer of metallic particles so united as to produce a structure that will not crumble incident to the heat generated; by com= bastion and which embodies the pore forming voids between particles for accommodating passage of and efiecting intimate mixing of the fuel components as aforesaid.

A flame plate so formed may be of a minimum thickness yet suf icient, in strength to withstand long usage. Should the plate become clogged by the fuel or by the products ofcornhustion,this

condition can be readily remedied by a force of air, for example, directed through the pores, the plate being or such minimum thickness as to permit this simple method of cleaning. also, the combustion surface may be brushed to remove therefrom deposits of combustion without dis-.

turbing or dislocating the particles.

@ther objects and advantages of the invention will be more apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the embodiment of the invention included in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. l is a side elevational view, partlyln section, of a burner 01' the pressure fuel feed type embodying the invention.

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. l, but illustrating an atmospheric type gas burner.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary view illustrating the formation of the flame plate of Figs. 1 and 2.

Referring to the drawings, there is shown in Fig. 1 a burner of the type to which both air and fluid fuel, gas for example, are supplied under pressure. The burner includes a base it mounting an upright l2 having a conduit-like part i3 which opens into an inverted cone-shaped head It forming a mixing chamber into which fuel is fed from the part 13. An inflammable 2 mixture of gas and air constitutes the fuel, the conduit l3 being connected to a suitable source,

not shown, of air, and a conduit l5 being so connected to a source of gas and communicating with the conduit l3 through a hollow projection It. A stem l1 threaded into an opening in the projection l6 functions as a valve to adjustably predetermine the desired proportion of gas admitted to the conduit l3 for mixture with the air supply.

A flame plate i8 is mounted at the open end of the head it and retained in position by the inwardhi deflected edge portion thereof. Fuel under pressure is discharged from the mixing chamber through the plate it for combustion at the exposed surface thereof, the plate having suficient porosity, as will hereinafter be set forth, to insure passage of the fuel therethrough in sufiicient quantity and at such rate as to main= tain a flame when ignited.

Referring to Fig. 3, the flame plate it is pref= erably formed from a plurality of metahic particles secured together by a metallurgical bond between adjacent surfaces thereof. The metallic structure includes copper and tin constituents and in order to provide the desired porosity and mechanical strength, globular-like particles of copper are mixed with a quantity of tin powder, the particles of which are smaller than the copper particles, in such quantity as to provide a.

mixture representing approximately 90% copper and 10% tin. Ln order to avoid segregation of the constituents due to the relatively difierent size and shape of the particles, the globular-like copper particles are preferably wetted with any suitable agent, for example kerosene, to cause the tin particles to be adhered thereto and thereafter heated to cause a superficial diffusion of the tin into the copper, thus producing globular-like particles i9, each having a tin enriched surface as shown at 20.

While the foregoing method of operation is preferred, nevertheless the globular-like copper.

particles having the tin enriched surface can be produced, for example, by electro-depositing thereon the desired quantity of the tin constituent. Particles shaped other than globular-like may be employed although those having the latter shape are preferred because they produce uniform porosity and approximately 40% voids.

The particles are then deposited on a refractory or graphite surface and heated in a, reducing, non-oxidizing atmosphere at a temperature and for a time suflicient to further diffuse the tin into the copper and thus effect a metallurgical asaa'rse bond between the adjacent particles, the temperature employed being below the melting point of copper but sufllcient to melt the tin. The particles are compacted only to the extent of insuring surface contact and relatively heavy briquettlng pressure is avoided. The above operation may be carried out by arranging the particles in a mold having the shape of the finished product, or where the plate is flat, as illustrated, the structure may be made in sheet form and individual plates cut therefrom.

The plate is may if desired be formed from iron particles. preferably globular-like in shape, coated by electrodepositing thereon copper or copper and nickel and then heating for a time and ata temperature sufllclent to effect a metallurgical bond between adjacent particle surfaces.

After formation of the plate l8 as aforesaid, the exposed face thereof constituting the combustion surface may be protected against corrosion. resulting from oxidization for example, by a film of nickel, copper or other oxidization resist ant metal or alloy as indicated at 25. This film may be applied by electrodeposition, for example, and for protection purposes a thickness of three to five ten-thousandths of an inch is suflicient. While the fllm is deposited primarily on the particle surfaces at the periphery of the plate, nevertheless the same may penetrate the plate due to the ness of the him is so slight relative to the size of the pores of the plate as to produce no appreciable closing of the pores and hence passage of the fuel components through the latter is not materially affected even though the entire peripheral surface of the plate may be exposed to and receive the film-forming metal during application thereof by the aforesaid process.

Referring to Fig. 2, the burner is of the atmospheric type and includes a base I0 supporting a hollow upright II on which is mounted the head ll forming the mixing chamber and having theflame plate l8 identical with that shown in Fig. 1. Gas is supplied to the upright II by a hose 2| connected with a'suitable source of supply, not shown, and air is admitted to the upright ll under control of a sleeve 22 rotatably to align an opening 23 thereof with an opening 24 in the upright. The plate is equally effective here in the Fig. 2 embodiment in intimately mixin the fuel components and discharging the same to the combustion surface.-

. The plate l8 effectively mixes the fuel components by the passage of the same through the tortuous path provided by the maze of pores and thus there is provided a concentrated heat and flame temperature of a value which cannot be obtained by the use of plates or burners wherein the fuel components are passed through an apertured plate or spider and hence are not intimately mixed.

Although but several specific embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, it will be understood that various changes in the size, shape and arrangement of parts may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

We claim:

1. In a fluid fuel burner including a casing forming an open-ended chamber for receiving components of a combustible mixture for discharge to a combustion surface, a flame plate over the open end of the chamber and secured to said casing having an exposed face forming porosity of the latter, but the thickthe combustion surface, said plate including a mass of metallic particles including metals having relatively different meltin points, adjacent particles having surface contacting portions secured together by diffusion of the metal having the lower melting pointinto the metal having the higher melting point to form a metallurgical bond therebetween and other surface portions of adjacent particles being spaced apart to form voids therebetween, said voids cooperating to provide a maze of intercommunicating pores through which the combustion components flow from the chamber to the combustion surface-forming face of the plate.

2. In a fluid fuel burner including a casing forming an open-ended chamber adapted to receive components of a combustible mixture for discharge to a combustion surface, a flame plate secured to the casing extending across the open end of the chamber having an outlet face thereof forming the combustion surface and an inlet face communicating with the chamber, said plate including a mass of globular-like metallic articles, adjacent particles having surface portions secured together by diflusion of the metal of one such particle into the other forming a metallurgical bond therebetween and other surface portions of adjacent particles being spaced apart to form voids therebetween, said voids cooperating to provide a maze of intercommunicating pores extending from one of said faces to the other thereof and through which the combustion components are discharged from the chamber to the combustion surface of the plate.

3. In a fluid fuel burner including a casing forming an open-ended chamber adapted to receive components of a combustible mixture for discharge to a combustion surface, a flame plate secured to the casin extending across the open end of the chamber having an outlet face thereof forming the combustion surface and an inlet face communicating with the chamber, said plate including a mass of globular-like metallic particles, adjacent particles having surface contacting portions secured together by a metallurgical bond therebetween and other surface portions of adjacent particles being spaced apart to form voids therebetween. said voids cooperating to provide a maze of intercommunicating pores extending from one of said faces to the other thereof and through which the combustion components are discharged from the chamber to the combustion surface of the plate, said particles including copper and tin constituents with the tin diffused into the copper forming said ond.

4. In a fluid fuel burner including a casing forming an open-ended chamber adapted to receive components of a combustible mixture for discharge to a combustion surface, a flame plate secured to the casing extending across the open end of the chamber having an outlet face thereof forming the combustion surface and an inlet face communicating with the chamber. said plate includinga mass of globular-like metallic particles, adjacent particles having surface contacting portions secured together by a metallurgical bond therebetween and other surface portions of adjacent particles being spaced apart to form voids therebetween, said voids cooperating to provide a maze of intercommunicatin pores extending from one of said faces to the other thereof and through which the combustion components are discharged from the 8 chamber to the combustion surface of the plate, said particles including a ferrous metal constituent and another metallic constituent having a melting temperature lower than said ferrous metal constituent and diflused into the latter to form said bond.

5. In a fluid fuel burner including a casing for receiving components of a combustible mixture for discharge to a combustion surface. a flame plate for said casing having an exposed face forming the combustion surface, said plate including a mass of metallic particles, adjacent particles having surface contacting portions secured together by a metallurgical bond therebetween and other surface portions of adjacent particles being spaced apart to form voids therebetween, said voids cooperating to provide a maze of intercommunicatin pores through which the combustion components flow from the casing to the combustion surface-forming face of the plate. and a film of oxidization resistant metal deposited on the particle surfaces at said WILLIAM G. CALKINS. EDWARD W. UPHAM.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 20 copy of this pub. may be found in Div. 19.) 

